europas ruined our season

already cost us 6pts, lennon been injured in 3 Europa games & now bale out for the season.
I said all season the Europa will cost us any hope of top 4. & its turning out to be true.

its such a hard cup to win & theres so many games too. we haven't got the squad for both the league & this.
if we had gone out a while ago, I reckon we would have more pts & we would have had lennon & bale fit.

it was highly unlikely we were going to win the Europa anyway.

the worst thing this season could be dembeles last min winner against lyon. if we had gone out then, we would probably have more points and definitely have bale & lennon fit.

my prediction that we will be fighting for 5th with everton & Liverpool is coming true.

What I think ruined your season is AVB using the same small core of players week in, week out and not resting key players. Players aren't robot, it's only a matter of time before the high number of games they've been involved in catch up on them. We're now seeing the result of Spurs not having a deep squad to rely on when the going gets tough. I think Spurs would do well to hang on to 5th spot this season as both Everton and Liverpool would have a say on that.

NBR,
If you were a manager though, how would you handle a season?
If it was me, I'd prioritise with the board and set the basic targets and then adjust the priority as I went. For Spurs, I would 'guess' that CL is the main board target - as again, whether the fans like it or not, the CL brings in the money that allows the squad to grow in quality (and gives the best financial return) - that hopefully then creates that cycle of staying in the top 4.
I would have then used the squad more in the earlier rounds of each of the other competitions with the priority (ie quality of player) being fitted to the perceived value of the prize. The League cup being bottom, then FA then Europa at the top - for me. I would then use the squad across the competitions, readjusting the priorities depending on how well we were doing in the various competitions.

'arry seemed to do that more than AVB (I'd be interested to see player usage stats across the competitions over the past 3 or 4 seasons). AVB seems to have stuck more to a set squad - maybe because of the clear out of 'squad' players during the summer.

Now we've got this far in the Europa, it seems a bit pointless not going for it IMHO - BUT - even though I never expected 4th this season (maybe 6th/7th), I now also want 4th as I think we deserved CL for this season and although in my opinion we haven't been playing as well - we have been at the 'top' for so long it would be a disappointment not to get CL for next season. If pressed, I still would prefer a CL spot over the Europa.

I see where you're coming from though - no one (fans) cares how many seasons the Woolwich bunch have achieved CL football - but they do care about when they won their last silverware.

PS If you get a message from Yahoo - it was me - I inadvertently hit the 'Report Abuse' button on your post. Apologies.

AVB has used many of the same players, however if he did use a broader selection, he'll be criticised byt he likes of SB of using players who aren't good enough. There was a small exodus in the summer and we have been in a situation where Livermore and Carroll have been needed. On a positive they have been exposed to some much needed first team football and at times the like of Carroll have looked like decent players for the future.

Our squad probably isn't deep enough, I think many Spurs supporters would agree with that. We lost 3 of our most influential players in the last year, most clubs would be in a far worse situation if they had suffered the same loses.

At the start of the season, there was a general consensus that top four would be a great achievement when everything has been atken into account, 4th 5th or 6th would be very closely fought.

Has the season been ruined? really? huge changes to the club and AVB keeps us in the top 4 for the vast majority of the season. 'Ruined'.......really, some fans don't know how good we have it! they be better off as glory supporters if thats their opinion.

i never said im right. im saying what i thinks right. & im telling u why. u think going for all the cups & top 4 is right. im telling u why i thinks it not. im probably wrong as usual. but im just telling u what i think. as for defoe, i still 100% think he would get 20 goals a season if he stayed fit. since xmas he has been carrying injuries even when he has managed to play. which is part of the reason he keeps picking up little injuries. same goes for lennon. he has been playing whilst carrying injuries so also keeps picking up injuries. both are being rushed back too soon. but with whats at stake, pretty much every team rushes important players back too soon. as for bale, i said sell him as he was going to be just used at LB. if u remember,i said he should be put as LW before he was. so personally id have kept bale & played him at LW. but as he was only being used at LB, i said we might as well sell him. people around me know i said that all along. its similar to dos santos. i said sell him. but personally id have kept him. but as harry didnt rate him, i said sell him because he would never get a fair run in the team.but who cares,we are all just guessing. some u get right & some wrong. i also said why are we buying walker. he didnt even look that good at sheff utd. but i was proved wrong. oh & i didnt see the point in getting friedel. wrong again! much better keeper than i realised.

I'm not sure what people expected at the start of the season, but I never thought we'd be where we are. EVEN if we drop a couple of places in the league it will be better than what I had originally hoped for.
But as yet, we're still 3rd.

As for the injuries - a bit of a pee off - but again no one 'expects' it to happen. Lennon may have gone off against Everton and Bale could have been injured against Swansea - only a crystal ball could tell. OK - the more games, the higher the odds for picking up an injury but if we're to be a top 4 club, we have to be used to playing more games.

The game itself was dire. We looked awful at the back and BAE looked pretty poor (and I normally like him). Ade tried but had no service (how many attempts - Naughton's shot was the only recollection of a save that I have) - Lennon didn't get into the game (maybe for obvious reasons).
Holtby buzzed and had a couple of nice touches - especially the one that managed to deflect Parker's attempt!

On the positive side, the Everton game will now give at least one player (I read Bale may only be out for 2 games) a chance to step up to the plate.

i agree half and half here.......i was dreading the UEFA cup, its for clubs that have nothing else to fight for and for clubs that can boast a large enough squad to rotate and give their fringe players a chance to impress and push for a first team slot...we made our first huge mistake back in january....we never bought a striker..not even an on loan player...... you guys say wheres our belief and hope..well it went in january in my books.... this is starting to become a regular trend for spurs..start well then fall apart after the new year..... i dont blame the players..they've really tried their best and to be in 3/4th position thus far is a great achievement and more than AVB could have asked from his players from the start of the season...they havent let us down...LEVI has, by not strengthening the squad in jan when we could all see there was a great chance in finishing top 4 and at that time we were still in 2 cups...

i agree with above comment...this season will be a scrap to fifth place not top 4....we've played an extra game remember....which means chel/arsen win their game we drop to forth 1 point infront of arsenal and once they move in front theirs no way we will over take them again....

my opinion is...this season was a great opportunity but ended in disaster....

stephen, that makes no sense. we could end up 6th or 7th. i think 5th a fair target with the fit players left.of course i want us to finish 3rd. but i dont think its a fair target without bale & probably lennon & defoe. i hope your right about bale. i was just going off the opinion rom the opinion of ex players who said he will be out for the season. & bale did look in a lot of pain

What?- I suspect you are another multi ID troll, which means your comments and views are almost entirely irrellevant, yet I find it in my huge Yiddish heart to indulge you, well someone has too. Arsenal have vastly more wealth than our beloved Spurs, Wenger or someone at your board has decided you will not compete financially, rather than cannot, should Arsenal fans expect more than they are currently getting? yes IMO, but thats for another day. Whilst you continue to invest so little in your team, you will continue to struggle to compete for the title or the CL, sadly there is a direct correllation!

But you do raise a good point, Wenger has put virtually all his eggs into the CL top 4 basket, where has it got you? regular qualification for a competition you cannot win, a huge bank balance and your best players leaving year on year, well done! It highlights that regular top 4 football doesn't necessarily mean you keep your best players.

We do not have the finances to compete on either front and to win either would take numerous players to play extraordinarily well and for us to remain almost entirely injury free, which whilst is incredibly unlikely. But as supporters (a much better description NBR) we cannot initiate any change, no matter how much should have, could have, I would have, the likes of SB spew in her usual world ending, club liquidating style.

So where would we be if we adopted SB's eggs all in one basket approach? The club decides to prioritise one competition, we have a tough CL and are out at the group stages, in the mean time we have dropped too far down the EPL to compete for top 4! then what? putting all your eggs in one basket is rarely seen as a good thing, so why would you advocate it SB, where has it got ther goons?

You claim to want the best for the future of the club, yet you put retaining one individual as the very top priority. Bale is 1 player, currently he is an exceptionally good player (once you were claiming he should be sold) but he is one man and it is entirely likely he will leave us one day, what then? Bale got a chance because BAE had a prolonged injury, he came in at LB and flourished, so why is it so implauible for another player to step up!

Really SB, NBR and I are the egotistical ones, when you believe your approach would have the following results:

'achieved top 4. kept out best players & attracted more top players. build from there.'

Wow! why havent you gone into football management or politics, if everything you suggest is so accurate so consistantly, you could make a real difference. What were your commenst re Defoe a few weks back? something along ther he'll definitely get 20+ goals! are you still so sure?!

How does my positive approach towards the way I support my club prove I have a huge ego? surely your approach of always appearing to know best demonstrates a much more egocentric approach than NBR's and mine? Do you ever wonder why you seem to be someone who regularly clashes with other contributors? no? so its always everyone else all the time! The predicition league is a bit of fun SB, nothing more, please don't go thinking its a reflection on our footbaling knowledge or interlect in general.

You are not a real fan if you are hoping Spurs (who are currently in 3rd) will finish 5th.

Also I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that Bale is out for the season but until this is announced how about we remain optimistic. It looked like he twisted his ankle; nothing to keep him out for the rest of the year.